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Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#341

Post by wombatmobile »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #327
wombatmobile wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he doesn't have a good voice for singing. Not everyone agrees with that estimation Vocal Coach reacts to Neil Young - Old Man (Live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppSF6JpdaKQ Neil Young "Old Man" REACTION & ANALYSIS by Vocal Coach / Opera Singer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trE7YifD9Jc

Young's voice suffers terribly from age, so I think both views are correct depending on which recording you're looking at. Pretty sure that live recording of Old Man is from his 1971 Live at Massey Hall recording, which is him near his peak.

> Young's voice suffers terribly from age

Not everyone would agree with that estimation.

May 19, 2019 CONCERT REVIEW: Neil Young's entrancing night at The Fox

https://www.inlander.com/spokane/concert-review-neil-youngs-...

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#342

Post by rhart92 »

aspaceman wrote: post #297
sorokod wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that was always the case. I have the (perhaps incorrect) impression that over time, pop performers perform someone else's materials more and more.

I would argue that it has waxed and waned. 50s most music was written by a composer. Have a songwriter behind a big name like Frank Sinatra. 60s has a surge of bands producing their own music in a smallish crew (Beatles, Beach Boys). But then arena rock was tightly controlled by the industry, but then Nirvana and grunge got big.

That's a really interesting point. Do you think that pattern applies to other genres too?

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#343

Post by boomboomsubban »

wombatmobile wrote: post #341
boomboomsubban wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Young's voice suffers terribly from age, so I think both views are correct depending on which recording you're looking at. Pretty sure that live recording of Old Man is from his 1971 Live at Massey Hall recording, which is him near his peak.

> Young's voice suffers terribly from age Not everyone would agree with that estimation. May 19, 2019 CONCERT REVIEW: Neil Young's entrancing night at The Fox https://www.inlander.com/spokane/concert-review-neil-youngs-...

I've seen several stars who started their career in the late sixties, and I'd say everyone of their voices "sounded great" while also being considerably worse than their debut period. I don't think even Neil Young would disagree here, I'm pretty sure he has openly discussed some of the vocal issues he had.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#344

Post by anang »

shard wrote: post #249
kbenson wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Emigrate from the US and you'll still be expected to pay US taxes on foreign income. That's because you still have U.S. citizenship. You can give that up and not be taxed, as I understand it. Also, it looks like there are provisions to give you exclusions on your foreign income,if you have any.[1] That seems sane to me, if you live their the whole year and that location is your tax base, then you can exclude all th…

> it looks like there are provisions to give you exclusions on your foreign income,if you have any The foreign income exclusion is not that high, especially if you are a mid career tech worker ($107,600 for 2020), and you will be double taxed on amounts above the exclusion. But at least you can skip California state taxes if you count as a nonresident.

You don’t have to use the exclusion, and in a lot of cases it’s not really beneficial.

The other option is to pay the difference in taxes, so if you were taxed at 50% in the country of residence, and the tax bill in the US would have been 45%, you’ll get the 5% back as tax credits towards future US tax obligations.

If you’re working in most European nations you’ll probably be paying more in tax than you would in the US.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#345

Post by soulofmischief »

throwaway1777 wrote: post #215
rgifford wrote: post #175

A friend of mine decided to pursue music production around the same time I started in software engineering. We're both 20 somethings. We swap war stories now and then. I get to hear about how he's working with his mentor to do vocal production on a track getting pitched for Maroon 5, The Chainsmokers, etc. Sometimes the tracks take -- the artist likes them and decides to move forward. Usually they don't and it's a lo…

I have a few friends in the business and they are basically all broke except for one. Music is like the game industry. Hits based and there are far more talented people pursuing it than there are hits. Being talented isn’t enough, you need to be well connected, good looking, lucky, etc. The internet has made it better than ever to carve out a niche and get a few thousand fans, but it’s still hard to get people to cho…

I'm making decent money as a game developer. You just have to hone your craft and find something niche and interesting that few people can do well.

I also compose and produce music and have not made a cent from it other than occasional recording time.

Game dev is way easier.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#346

Post by honkdaddy »

Varriount wrote: post #214
Johnny555 wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He moved to WA to dodge CA income tax If he waited for the big check before he made that move, CA will find him - it's not where you live when you got the check, it's where you live when you earned it.

Perhaps it's naive of me, but I can't help but look down on this kind of behavior. I know that tax money is rarely spent in the most efficient way possible, but (ideally) the point of taxes is that they go to benefit the general public. Moving just so one doesn't have to pay as much, after (presumably) living in the state for some time feels selfish and greedy.

I don't see any moral qualms with opting to pay the least amount of taxes you legally can for the same reason I don't see any moral victory in choosing to pay more than you're obligated.

When my accountant tells me to sign here and here to save myself a few thousands a year, I don't ask him "wouldn't these few thousand dollars benefit the general public?" I keep what I earned because I know that if the table's were turned, the state would never choose to give me more than I'm owed either.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#347

Post by shard »

throwawayprc99 wrote: post #320
shard wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it looks like there are provisions to give you exclusions on your foreign income,if you have any The foreign income exclusion is not that high, especially if you are a mid career tech worker ($107,600 for 2020), and you will be double taxed on amounts above the exclusion. But at least you can skip California state taxes if you count as a nonresident.

California taxes worldwide income, and you are still considered a CA resident if you were living there before you left the country.

I'm not a tax professional, but below is the relevant section from the California Franchise Tax Board's Guideline for Determining Resident Status, which can grant nonresident status depending on the particulars of one's employment:

Safe Harbor

Safe harbor is available for certain individuals leaving California under employment-related contracts. The safe harbor provides that an individual domiciled in California who is outside California under an employment-related contract for an uninterrupted period of at least 546 consecutive days will be considered a nonresident unless any of the following is met:

• The individual has intangible income exceeding $200,000 in any taxable year during which the employment-related contract is in effect.

• The principal purpose of the absence from California is to avoid personal income tax.

The spouse/RDP of the individual covered by this safe harbor rule will also be considered a nonresident while accompanying the individual outside California for at least 546 consecutive days. Return visits to California that do not exceed a total of 45 days during any taxable year covered by the employment contract are considered temporary.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#348

Post by shard »

kbenson wrote: post #265
shard wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it looks like there are provisions to give you exclusions on your foreign income,if you have any The foreign income exclusion is not that high, especially if you are a mid career tech worker ($107,600 for 2020), and you will be double taxed on amounts above the exclusion. But at least you can skip California state taxes if you count as a nonresident.

I guess that's the decision to make. Do you pay extra to keep your U.S. citizenship active, or do you renounce citizenship to pay less? I'm sure different people will have different ideas of what that's worth, but it's available as a choice. People that opt not to renounce citizenship have obviously decided it's worth it to not do so, whether that be keeping future options open, or because they know they plan to retu…

There is a sense of dissatisfaction when one has to pay the extra tax, while one's coworkers, who are from countries other than the US, do not.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#349

Post by shard »

kalleboo wrote: post #340
shard wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it looks like there are provisions to give you exclusions on your foreign income,if you have any The foreign income exclusion is not that high, especially if you are a mid career tech worker ($107,600 for 2020), and you will be double taxed on amounts above the exclusion. But at least you can skip California state taxes if you count as a nonresident.

Is that the salary for a mid-career tech worker in the US, or in Europe/Asia? Because tech salaries are a lot lower outside of the US. Also many countries have double-taxation treaties to avoid the double taxation when you exceed $100k I know a bunch of Americans abroad, none of them have to pay any tax to the US, but several of them have to pay specialist accountants to deal with the differences in taxation between…

> Is that the salary for a mid-career tech worker in the US, or in Europe/Asia? Because tech salaries are a lot lower outside of the US.

Definitely it depends on the country, the industry, the specific company, and by the definition of mid-career (10 years? 20 years?).

> Also many countries have double-taxation treaties to avoid the double taxation when you exceed $100k

But then again, other countries do not double-tax from the start, so none of the international coworkers of the Americans abroad have to pay any taxes to their home countries, or for specialist accountants to deal with the differences in taxation.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#350

Post by tolbish »

TuringNYC wrote: post #324
tolbish wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well now I'm curious. How was the situation resolved?

It was a 13 week class and the person minimally contributed by just showing up to meetings such that you couldn't say "he didn't show up." We had to do some D3js visualizations and one time he even sent a photo shreenshot of a chart rather than actual code to embed onto our project site. One time he gave us a hard time about not being able to meet at any point except his lunch-hour. So we're all on Eastern Time at 3p…

All in all it sounds like the class adequately prepared you for the real world.
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